My House Ministries offers transitional housing project to help women get on their feet

Mark Jones and wife Nancy Haaser-Jones worked in the past with women at their Holland church who participated in shelter programs. But they saw an unfilled need.

By Laura Dornon

Holland Sentinel

By Laura Dornon

Posted Feb. 8, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 8, 2013 at 8:23 AM

By Laura Dornon

Posted Feb. 8, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 8, 2013 at 8:23 AM

Holland

Mark Jones and wife Nancy Haaser-Jones worked in the past with women at their Holland church who participated in shelter programs. But they saw an unfilled need.

So in November, the couple took their involvement a step further by buying a house and working three months — with community help — to turn it into a transitional housing facility under their new organization, My House Ministries, L.L.C.

The couple noted that the women, after going through programs offered by organizations such as Holland Rescue Mission or Harbor House, were still facing obstacles in transitioning.

“We saw their plight and the barriers they have when they finish these programs as far as housing,” said Jones.

The couple saw an “immediate need” in the area to help women transition into independent living.

“We were shocked to find out how much these women have to pay, even for a shared living space. Too often the only options that they can afford will bring them right back to an unstable situation," the couple note in information about the house.

The couple purchased the ministry’s property in November. It's in Holland, in a location kept private to shelter the residents.

“In the past three months, we’ve made purchases and improvements. Some services we’ve had to pay for but people have come forth with donations of services, time, labor, etc… people we’d never heard of before. They just seemed to come out of nowhere,” Jones said. The couple celebrated the project this week with an open house for friends and supporters.

Once the house was move-in ready, the real work began with the residents. Although the ministry offers a low-income housing solution, there are still certain expectations for women living in the house.

Residents must have graduated from a program, such as the ones offered by Holland Rescue Mission or Harbor House. The women are also responsible for securing a part-time job within 30 days to pay their expenses as well as build savings.

The ministry also has a required mentoring program as well as daily one-on-one and group meetings available as needed. A live-in house manager helps with security and accountability, as well.

“There was a situation where one of the residents was sick and forgot to call into work... She quickly found out that if she didn’t do that, she would have lost her job. She had never been in that situation,” said Haaser-Jones. The advice and mentoring of the house manager helped the resident work through the situation and keep her job.

The goal of My House Ministry is to provide a safe place for women to eventually transition into independent living.

“We believe the home will be a safe place where women are treated compassionately and held accountable,” said Janet Ewing, director of the women’s shelter for Holland Rescue Mission.

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Although there is room for growth in the future, My House Ministries hopes for now to make an immediate effort to help those working to transition.